EUROPE'S TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE: THE BEST PLACE TO SEE IT & HOW TO VIEW IT SAFELY.

New York Times

 

+ info from "The Guardian": (click on pic)

- best view points in our area:

FIVE FACTS ABOUT THIS YEAR'S SOLAR ECLIPSE

STAR WARS DAY: MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!

Commenting on a curiosity today. Do you know what day it is?

It's May, 4th: "Star Wars Day"

And do you know why it's so? Well, it has a curious explanation: it's a pun or a play on words, with one of the famous mythical punch-line quotes from the films, which has become a worldwide catchphrase:

"MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU!"

which phonetically sounds similar to another sentence:

"MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU!"

This second sentence was used on the exact day in 1979 as a headline in a British newspaper to congratulate Margaret Thatcher for having won the election and having become the first woman Prime Minister in the country.

Since 2008, it has become the day to pay tribute to George Lucas' film saga by its millions of fans and it's widely celebrated throughout the social networks and media.

Galician version of this post @ ArquivosDoTrasno.

MOON IDIOMS

On the day of the moon eclipse, here are some common English idioms with 'moon'.

[8th CW] "RAPPING THE COSMOS", THE REPORTERS' MAKING OF VIDEO

Finally including the reporters' making of video from the "RAPPING THE COSMOS" project that this year's English teacher-in-practice, Tania Souto, organized together with 2nd BAC students. Some of the students played the role of reporters asking all the participants how they felt setting up the work. At the end the actual show can also be seen.

Video REPORTERS:

Galician version of this post @ ArquivosDoTrasno

[8th CW] RAPPING THE COSMOS

Tania Souto, the English teacher in practice in our school this year, has prepared a task based educational project related with the Cosmos and popular urban culture of rap and hip hop. She has been able to involve all the students from 2nd BAC to complete a multi-competence task. We are grateful for her interest and work. Here are some photos, we'll be updating with video soon.

Galician version @ ArquivosDoTrasno.

[8th CW] STAR WARS OPENING CRAWLS

STAR WAR CRAWLS

Each of the seven Star Wars films begin with nearly identical openings, in which the text "A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...." is displayed, followed by the Star Wars logo over a field of stars. A subsequent downward tilt reveals the film's episode number, the subtitle in all-capital letters, and a three-paragraph summary of events immediately prior to the events of the film.

In the widescreen (or letterbox) versions of the Star Wars films, each line of the opening crawl text appears directly in its entirety from the bottom of the screen. In the fullscreen (or pan and scan) versions, the sides of each line of opening crawl text are visible only after that line reaches the center of the screen.

The roll-up (alternatively called the "crawl") is a homage to Flash Gordon serials of the 1930s and 1940s, which Star Wars creator George Lucas enjoyed as a child. It is also for this reason that many of the subtitles of the seven films have a "pulpy" sound to them or are reminiscent of the Gordon serials.

[From Wookieepedia]

Episode I: THE PHANTOM MENACE 

"Turmoil has engulfed the Galactic Republic. The taxation of trade routes to outlying star systems is in dispute. Hoping to resolve the matter with a blockade of deadly battleships, the greedy Trade Federation has stopped all shipping to the small planet of Naboo. While the Congress of the Republic endlessly debates this alarming chain of events, the Supreme Chancellor has secretly dispatched two Jedi Knights, the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy, to settle the conflict...."

Episode II: ATTACK OF THE CLONES 

"There is unrest in the Galactic Senate. Several thousand solar systems have declared their intentions to leave the Republic. This separatist movement, under the leadership of the mysterious Count Dooku, has made it difficult for the limited number of Jedi Knights to maintain peace and order in the galaxy. Senator Amidala, the former Queen of Naboo, is returning to the Galactic Senate to vote on the critical issue of creating an ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC to assist the overwhelmed Jedi...."

Episode III: REVENGE OF THE SITH 

"War! The Republic is crumbling under attacks by the ruthless Sith Lord, Count Dooku. There are heroes on both sides. Evil is everywhere. In a stunning move, the fiendish droid leader, General Grievous, has swept into the Republic capital and kidnapped Chancellor Palpatine, leader of the Galactic Senate. As the Separatist Droid Army attempts to flee the besieged capital with their valuable hostage, two Jedi Knights lead a desperate mission to rescue the captive Chancellor...."

Episode IV: A NEW HOPE 

"It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire. During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire's ultimate weapon, the DEATH STAR, an armored space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet. Pursued by the Empire's sinister agents, Princess Leia races home aboard her starship, custodian of the stolen plans that can save her people and restore freedom to the galaxy...."

Episode V: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK 

"It is a dark time for the Rebellion. Although the Death Star has been destroyed, Imperial troops have driven the Rebel forces from their hidden base and pursued them across the galaxy. Evading the dreaded Imperial Starfleet, a group of freedom fighters led by Luke Skywalker has established a new secret base on the remote ice world of Hoth. The evil lord Darth Vader, obsessed with finding young Skywalker, has dispatched thousands of remote probes into the far reaches of space...."

Episode VI: RETURN OF THE JEDI 

"Luke Skywalker has returned to his home planet of Tatooine in an attempt to rescue his friend Han Solo from the clutches of the vile gangster Jabba the Hutt. Little does Luke know that the GALACTIC EMPIRE has secretly begun construction on a new armored space station even more powerful than the first dreaded Death Star. When completed, this ultimate weapon will spell certain doom for the small band of rebels struggling to restore freedom to the galaxy..."

Episode VII: THE FORCE AWAKENS 

"Luke Skywalker has vanished. In his absence, the sinister FIRST ORDER has risen from the ashes of the Empire and will not rest until Skywalker, the last Jedi, has been destroyed. With the support of the REPUBLIC, General Leia Organa leads a brave RESISTANCE. She is desperate to find her brother Luke and gain his help in restoring peace and justice to the galaxy. Leia has sent her most daring pilot on a secret mission to Jakku, where an old ally has discovered a clue to Luke's whereabouts...."

[8th CW] THE COSMOS CULTURAL WEEK 2017

Our 8th Cultural Week devoted to the Cosmos kicks off today. 

You've already been able to see the contibutions we have made from the English Department on previous posts on this blog, but from the link below you can follow all the info about the activities prepared for this week.

Everything about it:

@ArquivosDoTrasno-Cosmos

Everything in English here: 
@ClickOnEnglish-Cosmos

Here is this year's poster of the event.

[8th CW] CLASSIC SCI-FI BOOK/FILM REVIEWS

Our 8th Cultural week devoted to the COSMOS officially starts next Monday. One of the activities, organized by the English Department, for this year's Cultural Week was to write reviews of all-time classic science-fiction books or films. Here are the ones chosen by 1st BAC students to write about in alphabetical order:

Handed in reviews

Reviews on exhibition.

"AVATAR" (2009)

[Paula Conde & Marta Vázquez Luaces 1ºBAC-A]

Video trailer "AVATAR":

"DIVERGENT" (2012)

[Miguel Alcalde 1ºBAC-C]

Video trailer "DIVERGENT":

"E.T." (1982)

[Sara Criado, 1ºBAC-A]

Video trailer "E.T.":

"GRAVITY" (2013)

[Lucía Gª Expósito, 1ºBAC-C]

Video trailer "GRAVITY":

"INTERSTELLAR" (2014)
[Pablo Couso, 1ºBAC-C]

Video trailer "INTERSTELLAR":

"UNDER THE SKIN" (2013)

[Iago Mora, 1ºBAC-C]

Video trailer "UNDER THE SKIN":

Thanks to all for taking part in this activity. They'll be displayed in the exhibitions of the cultural week together with the rest of works done.

ORIGIN OF THE DAYS OF THE WEEK'S NAMES

Another video to explain the origins of all the different names of the week days.

Video:

[8th CW] TRAPPIST-1: NEW PLANETS HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED

The year we are decoting to the Cosmos, seven Earth-sized planets have been observed by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope around a tiny, nearby, ultra-cool dwarf star called TRAPPIST-1. Three of these planets are firmly in the habitable zone. Their  existence has just been confirmed. Watch the video below for all the information.

Video:

[8th CW] A REVIEW ABOUT A SPACE FICTION FILM OR BOOK

As the activity for our 8th Cultural Week devoted to the Cosmos. The English Department proposes to write reviews about famous space fiction films of books that you have enjoyed.

PLAN:

- Name of film or book.

- Who starred, directed it or wrote it.

- What's the setting and main characters.

- What you liked the most. Has it got a good plot?

- Any memorable scenes or characters.

- What's your opinion about it?

PARAGRAPHS:

1- Introduction: title, actors/characters & setting.

2- Details: characters, plot. Strong or weak points.

3- Opinion & conclusion / recommendation.

Once they have been checked by the teacher, you can edit them for display and also include photos.

Here's some film related vocabulary for you to have:
DIRECTOR - the person who makes the film
STARS - the most famous actors in the film
CAST - all the actors & actresses that appear in a film
PRODUCER - the person who finds the money and actors to make a film.
AUDIENCE - the people who watch the film
EXTRAS - the people (not actors) who appear in the film as crowd
SCREENPLAY -the actions and dialogue of the film
SCRIPT - the dialogue of the film
SCENE - part of a film happening in one place
SOUNDTRACK - the music of the film
PLOT - the story, what happens
SPECIAL EFFECTS - images often created by a computer
SEQUEL - a film or book that continues the story of the previous one
DUBBED - not in the original language
SET - situated in a particular time and place
SHOOT - film, record with a camera
STARRING - the main actors appearing in the film
SUBTITLED - with translation script at the bottom of the screen

[8th CW] THE EARTH vs THE REST OF THE UNIVERSE (+ SPACE IDIOMS)

Working on our Cultural Week: The Cosmos. 

Today we're comparing the planet we live in (the Earth) with the rest of the planets in the Solar System. Watch the video and find out:

Video comparing planet sizes: